TITLE: Call for Nominations -
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering
Mentoring (PAESMEM) (nsf13044)
DATE: 1/25/2013
NSF 13-044
Dear Colleague Letter: Call for Nominations -
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering
Mentoring (PAESMEM)
Date: January 25, 2013
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and
Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) is a Presidential award established by
the White House in 1995. The purpose of the award is to recognize U.S.
citizens or permanent residents and U.S. organizations that have
demonstrated excellence in mentoring individuals from groups that are
underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) education and workforce. Groups that are underrepresented in
STEM include women, people with disabilities, underrepresented racial
and ethnic minorities, as well as individuals from low socio-economic
backgrounds and some geographic regions such as urban and rural areas.
The PAESMEM program is administered by the National Science Foundation
(NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy ([1]OSTP).
Nominations, including self-nominations, are invited for Individual
and Organizational PAESMEM awards. Individuals and organizations in
all public and private sectors are eligible including industry,
academia, primary and secondary education, military and government,
non-profit organizations, and foundations. Nominations are encouraged
from all geographical regions in the U.S., its territories or
possessions, particularly jurisdictions designated by Congress under
NSF's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
([2]EPSCoR).
Nomination Materials Due: June 5, 2013.
The PAESMEM Award
Each Individual and Organizational PAESMEM awardee will receive a
$10,000 award and a commemorative Presidential certificate. Awardees
are also invited to participate in an awards ceremony in Washington,
D.C. which includes meetings with STEM education, research, and policy
leaders. Up to sixteen awards may be made from the nominations
received by June 5, 2013.
Eligibility Information
INDIVIDUAL Nominees: An Individual nominee must be a U.S. Citizen or
permanent resident with five or more years of demonstrated exceptional
mentoring in STEM. Individuals in industry, academia, primary and
secondary education, military and government, non-profit
organizations, and foundations are eligible. Nominees may be federal
government employees except for those identified in the
[3]U.S. Code Title 5. Federal employees should consult their Office of
General Counsel to determine eligibility. Former Individual PAESMEM
award recipients are not eligible for an additional Individual award.
Please note that prior or current federal funding is not required to
be eligible for an Individual award.
ORGANIZATIONAL Nominees: An Organizational nominee must be affiliated
with a U.S. corporation, educational institution or agency, military
or government agency, non-profit organization, or foundation and have
five or more years of demonstrated exceptional mentoring in STEM.
Former recipients of the Organizational PAESMEM award may be
re-nominated 10 years or more after receiving an award. Please note
that prior or current federal funding is not required to be eligible
for an Organizational award.
An Individual or Organizational nominee may be nominated only once per
competition. Nominations for different Individual or Organizational
awards may be submitted from the same corporation, institution, agency
or organization in the same competition.
For a list of past awardees, please consult [4]PAESMEM.net/awards or
[5]www.nsf.gov/PAESMEM.
Nomination Preparation and Submission Instructions
STEP 1: Prepare Nomination Materials
The INDIVIDUAL Nomination Package should include four sections
described below:
1. The nominee's mentoring philosophy (include references to any
literature and models that were used to develop the mentoring
philosophy, if applicable). (1 to 2 pages)
2. The nominee's mentoring accomplishments (up to 6 pages). A
description of the activities and strategies employed as a mentor
including the number of years of experience and the reason for
targeting the chosen population of students, trainees, and/or
early career scientists and engineers. Clearly delineate the
achievements of the individual nominee as separate from
achievements of his or her corporation, institution, agency or
organization. Suggested components:
+ Explain how the nominee's mentoring activities are above and
beyond those expected from others employed in similar
positions.
+ Explain how the mentoring activities were designed and
tailored to meet the needs and interests of the mentees.
+ Describe any innovative mentoring activities developed and
implemented by the nominee that could be adopted by others,
if applicable.
+ Describe other awards and recognitions received by the
nominee, if applicable.
+ Include quantitative information on the impact of the
mentoring, such as:
+ The number and demographics of personally mentored students,
trainees, and/or early career scientists and engineers. If
including lists of mentees by name do not include demographic
information which is protected personally identifiable
information. Provide summary aggregate demographic
information on mentees;
+ Outcome information on mentees personally mentored, such as
academic achievement, retention, degree attainment, research
productivity, career placement, career satisfaction,
promotion, attainment of leadership roles, etc.
3. Between two and five letters of support (at least two letters of
support are required).
+ Letters can be from mentees as well as colleagues familiar
with the nominee's work.
4. A two page resume or curriculum vitae for the nominee with current
contact information.
The ORGANIZATIONAL Nomination Package should include five sections
described below:
1. A brief description of the organization. (1 page)
2. The organization's mentoring philosophy (include references to any
literature and models that were used to develop the mentoring
philosophy, if applicable). (1 to 2 pages)
3. The organization's mentoring accomplishments (up to 6 pages). A
description of the organizational activities and strategies
employed as well as the number of years of experience and the
reason for targeting the chosen population of students, trainees,
and/or early career scientists and engineers. Suggested
components:
+ Explain how the mentoring activities were designed and
tailored to meet the needs and interests of the mentees.
+ Describe any innovative mentoring activities developed and
implemented by the organization that could be adopted by
others, if applicable.
+ Describe the organization's assessment of the mentoring
activities.
+ Describe other awards and recognitions received by the
organization, if applicable.
+ Include quantitative information on the impact of the
mentoring, such as:
+ The number and demographics of mentees impacted by the
organization's activities. If including lists of mentees by
name do not include demographic information which is
protected personally identifiable information. Provide
summary aggregate demographic information on mentees;
+ Outcome information on mentees such as academic achievement,
retention, degree attainment, research productivity, career
placement, promotion, attainment of leadership roles, etc.
4. Between two and five letters of support (at least two letters of
support are required).
+ Letters can be from mentees as well as colleagues familiar
with the organization's work.
5. A two page resume or curriculum vitae for the organizational
representative(s) with current contact information (one primary
representative is required and up to four other organizational
representatives can be included).
STEP 2: Submit Nomination Materials
* Combine all the prepared nomination materials described above into
one Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word file.
* Download the PAESMEM Certification Form at [6]www.nsf.gov/PAESMEM.
Sign the Certification Form and scan to create an electronic copy.
* Send an email to [7]Mentor@nsf.gov with the nomination materials
and the signed Certification Form attached. Please include your
name, daytime telephone number, and email address in the text of
the email. Do not include other information in the text of the
email. Incomplete nomination packages will not be considered for
the award.
* Please include the word "NOMINATION" in the subject line of your
email to [8]Mentor@nsf.gov.
* If the word "NOMINATION" is in the subject line, you will receive
an automatic email indicating that NSF has received your email and
attached document(s). Note that this email reply does NOT confirm
that the nomination is complete or readable. You must ensure that
the nomination materials are complete including the signed PAESMEM
Certification Form and that the documents are in a format that can
be opened and read using standard software before sending your
nomination materials.
The nomination materials must be sent by email no later than 6 pm
your local time on June 5, 2013. Early submission is encouraged.
Note that nomination materials cannot be revised once submitted. If
revisions are required please resubmit a new complete package before
the deadline. The nomination package with the latest date and time
before the deadline will be considered the final version.
Review and Award Processing
PAESMEM nominations will be reviewed by a panel of mentoring and STEM
experts for the overall impact, significance, and quality of the
mentoring activities described in the nomination materials.
Individual Criteria:
* Impact: Are the impacts and outcomes of the mentoring outstanding?
* Significance: Are the mentoring accomplishments above and beyond
what would be expected for other individuals in similar positions?
* Quality: How well has the nominee designed, tailored, and
implemented the mentoring activities and strategies for the
targeted mentees?
Organizational Criteria:
* Impact: Are the impacts and outcomes of the mentoring outstanding?
* Significance: Are the mentoring activities and strategies regarded
as exemplars and have potential for wider implementation?
* Quality: How well has the nominee designed, tailored, and
implemented the mentoring activities and strategies for the
targeted mentees? and How well has the organization assessed the
impacts of the mentoring activities?
Awardees will be notified by the White House or NSF. The timing of the
awards announcement and ceremony activities is dependent on the White
House calendar; therefore the award announcement and ceremony dates
are not fixed every year. The NSF will notify nominees who were not
selected for the award as soon as possible after the awardees are
notified.
Please contact [9]PAESMEM@nsf.gov for all questions on the nomination
materials content, allowable file formats, and other submission
questions. If you cannot email attachments contact [10]PAESMEM@nsf.gov
by May 24, 2013 in order to make alternative arrangements before the
nomination deadline. Additional information on PAESMEM including
outreach materials, FAQs on PAESMEM ([11]NSF 13-045), and other
resources may be found at [12]www.nsf.gov/PAESMEM.
DEADLINE: All materials must be submitted to [13]Mentor@nsf.gov by 6
pm your local time on June 5, 2013. Early submission is encouraged.
Sincerely,
Joan Ferrini-Mundy
Assistant Director
Directorate for Education and Human Resources
National Science Foundation
Privacy Act Statement
The information requested on the application materials is solicited
under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as
amended. It will be used in connection with the selection of qualified
applicants and may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff
assistants as part of the review process, and to government
contractors as necessary to complete assigned work, and to a court or
party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the
government is a party. Notice of the decision may be given to
nominators, and disclosure may be made of awardees names, home
institutions, and field of study for public information purposes
including press releases. See Systems of Records, NSF-12, "Fellowships
and Other Awards," 63 Federal Register 265 (January 5, 1998).
Submission of the information is voluntary; however, failure to
provide full and complete information may reduce the possibility of
receiving an award.
Public Burden Statement
Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5 (b), an agency may not conduct or sponsor,
and a person is not required to respond to an information collection
unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number
for this collection is 3145-0023. Public reporting burden for this
collection of information is estimated to average 20 hours per
response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments
regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection
of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:
Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Division of
Administrative Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA
22230.
References
1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp
2. http://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/programs/epscor/images/cohortmap2012.JPG
3. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/5/usc_sup_01_5_10_III_20_C_
30_45_40_I.html
4. http://paesmem.net/awards
5. http://www.nsf.gov/PAESMEM
6. http://www.nsf.gov/PAESMEM
7. mailto:Mentor@nsf.gov
8. mailto:Mentor@nsf.gov
9. mailto:PAESMEM@nsf.gov
10. mailto:PAESMEM@nsf.gov
11. http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf13045
12. http://www.nsf.gov/PAESMEM
13. mailto:Mentor@nsf.gov